Lipoprotein (a) and cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents

• Published in: Revista Paulista de Pediatria Vol. 31; no. 4; pp. 531 - 537
• Main Authors: Palmeira, Ástrid Camêlo, Leal, Adriana Amorim de F, Ramos, Nathaly de Medeiros N, Neto, José de Alencar F, Simões, Mônica Oliveira da S, Medeiros, Carla Campos M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Sociedade de Pediatria de São Paulo 01-12-2013
• Subjects: Adolescent; adolescente; Cardiovascular Diseases - blood; Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Child; enfermedades cardiovasculares; Humans; Lipoprotein(a) - blood; lipoproteína (a); niño; obesidad; Review; Risk Factors
• ISSN: 0103-0582; 1984-0462; 1984-0462; 0103-0582
• DOI: 10.1590/S0103-05822013000400017

To review the relationship between lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in children and adolescents.
This systematic review included studies from 2001 to 2011, a ten-year time period. Epidemiological studies with children and/or adolescents published in English, Portuguese or Spanish and fully available online were included. The searches were performed in Science Direct, PubMed/Medline, BVS (Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde) and Cochrane Library databases, using the following combination of key-words: "lipoprotein a" and "cardiovascular diseases" and "obesity".
Overall, 672 studies were obtained but only seven were included. Some studies assessed the family history for CVD. In all of them, Lp(a) levels were increased in patients with family history for CVD. There was also a positive correlation between Lp(a) and LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B levels, suggesting an association between Lp(a) levels and the lipid profile.
The evidence that CVD may originate in childhood and adolescence leads to the need for investigating the risk factors during this period in order to propose earlier and possibly more effective interventions to reduce morbidity and mortality rates.